How Does St. Louis Figure in NCAA Tourney’s All-Time Memories?

ST. LOUIS - APRIL 04: Head coach Roy Williams, Sean May 342 and the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 75-70 to win the NCAA Men's National Championship game at the Edward Jones Dome on April 4, 2005 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)Head coach Roy Williams, Sean May, and the North Carolina Tar Heels celebrate with the trophy after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 75-70 to win the NCAA Men's National Championship game at the Edward Jones Dome on April 4, 2005 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP/KMOX)- Let the arguments begin.

The NCAA, as part of the celebration of the 75th anniversary of March Madness, has released lists of the top players, teams and moments to help fans as they vote for those to be honored at the Final Four.

The NCAA said Tuesday that the fan voting, which will start in early January at NCAA.com/MarchMadness, will trim the list of 75 players to 15, and the 25 teams and 35 moments will be cut to one each.

The lists were compiled and researched by the NCAA’s basketball and statistics staffs, which consulted with the NCAA’s media partners and selected
members of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

CBS Sports, CBS Sports Network and CBSSports.com, in conjunction with the NCAA, will air original programming commemorating 75 years of March Madness.

KMOX found several players of local interest on the ballot. They include: Crystal City native Bill Bradley (Princeton), Poplar Bluff native Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), and St. Louis Hawks alumnus Clyde Lovellette (Kansas).

Regarding NCAA Final Four games played in St. Louis, the 1973 tournament final won by UCLA is mentioned on all three ballots. Leader Bill Walton is on the all-time players list, the 30-0 UCLA team in the greatest teams, and Walton leading the Bruins to the title as one of the tourney’s all-time moments.

Jack “Goose” Givens of Kentucky is also on the players list. His 41 points against Duke led Kentucky to the tourney championship in St. Louis in 1978.

And, the most-recent final four held in St. Louis in 2005 produced some fame for North Carolina’s Sean May. His 26 points helped the Tar Heels topple Illinois, 75-70.